Before Always
by ForeverAndAlwaysCastle
Summary: What if Beckett and Castle met back in highschool instead of when they were older? Will love still be possible, or will highschool drama rip them apart? My first fanfic! Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING CASTLE OR CASTLE RELATED.
1. Chapter 1

Before Always

Katherine Beckett wasn't crazy. Maybe she wasn't all put together, but she sure as hell wasn't crazy. Richard Rogers was actually starting at her from across the hall. How could this be? She'd done nothing different with herself today. Her hair has worn in the same natural curls as always and she was wearing her usual blouse and faded jeans, so what could possibly have grabbed his attention?

She let go of the subject. She had a class to get to and a chemistry test to take, so she shouldn't have given some guy's gawking a second thought. The problem was he wasn't just some guy. He was Rick. They had gone to school together since they were little tikes in elementary school. She had had a crush on him for years, though she denied it more often than not, especially to her friends.

There was something mysterious about Rick. No one but her ever seemed to notice, probably because he was friends with most of the school, that he didn't talk to many people constantly. He had never had a girlfriend that Kate knew of, he never went to social gatherings or sport-related events, and he never so much as sat at a table in the lunch room. Instead, he always had his head buried in a book or scratching away with a pen in a notebook. Kate could never understand why in God's name that someone so –hot?- would never date or speak to anyone at all at that.

Reaching her class, Kate slapped down her books and slid into her seat just as the bell rang. Her chemistry teacher passed out their tests and gave the usual cheating-results-in-a-zero lecture. Kate zoned out, not interested in any of it, and took her test with her mind off and wandering. For some reason she couldn't focus. Not on chemistry, anyways. Only on Rick and the way he had looked at her. She could feel herself blushing. It was like he'd never seen her before and just remembering the look in his eyes sent shivers through her.

Kate was no longer interested passing the test so she just looked it over one more time, not bothering to fix any mistakes she may have made, and turned it in at the front of the room. When she returned to her seat she sighed. It was clear that this was getting out of hand. He had simply looked at her, and it was nothing more than that. He was a senior after all, and she was nothing but a freshmen. She was hallucinating that there was something behind the stare. He was far beyond anything she'd ever achieve as a boyfriend at this point.

The bell rang and in frustrating Kate clutched her books tightly and stormed out of the classroom. She told herself that nothing would happen, they'd never be together, and that in due time she'll get over this little fascination. She also wondered how long she'd have to tell herself that before she believed it.


	2. Chapter 2

She was stunning. Rick was no fool, nor was he blind. He had always eyed her, taking in every perfect curve and gorgeous feature Kate Beckett had to offer. But this time was different. This time she had caught him.

He didn't look away fast enough, didn't pretend to be reading or writing or playing with his pen. He simply stared as she looked back at him. And God was it worth it. Her eyes, like the rest of her, were stunning. They glistened and seemed to suck him in to her, almost like he wasn't across the hall but right up next to her instead. That's where he wished he was.

Any man with a pulse had a crush on Kate Beckett, or at least found her attractive. No doubt that she turned teenage guys' heads, whether the guy was taken or not. She was, however, a freshmen. And this posed an issue for Rick. She was simply too young for him. School would be coming to a close soon and spring would be molding into summer, then after summer he'd go off to college and be forced to leave her behind. So why bother putting them both through that?

Rick was far from arrogant. He didn't assume that she'd have any interest in dating him. Sure, he was a senior and he was good looking and in good shape and aware of it, but it wasn't about that. Not with her. She was a different breed of lady. It took more than good looks and charm with her, he knew that from stories about her turning down several arrogant assholes. What it took was unclear to him, but he'd find out.

He thought about going after her. About walking her to her class. But their ages were a problem. He wished he could shove that to the back of his mind, to just let it go, but he couldn't. Rick wasn't a fool and didn't want to get into a relationship that may end once he left for college. He also didn't want to hurt Kate. She deserved much more than that. She deserved to have a guy that'd always be there for her and never leave her.

Contemplating this, Rick pushed off the wall he was leaning against and sauntered down the hallway, half in a daze. It wasn't like him to go after girls. He'd never even dated. All of the girls he'd met at this school fell into three categories: gossipy, slutty, or crazy. Katherine was different. She had always been different. She didn't date, didn't party, didn't start drama, and never once did she act crazy, or even strange. She did, however, have a mysterious way about her. No one knew much about her. She had friends but kept to herself. He wanted to find out what made her tick. He wanted to find out every secret and every memory she had. But it wasn't that simple, and it never could be.

He reached his class, Basic P.E., and as he walked in he shook away his thoughts of her. They couldn't work. They couldn't be together. Not without someone getting hurt.


	3. Chapter 3

Kate stared at the rose that was taped to her locker in high hopes. Her heart fluttered, because she knew exactly what it was. With prom right around the corner, she knew it had to be an invitation to go. It wasn't the thought of prom, though, that got her all bent out of shape. It was her hopes that the invite was from Rick.

She hadn't really seen him since the day she caught him staring at her a few weeks back, and she was running out of time because summer was creeping closer. It was like he was avoiding her. Or that's what she thought, anyways. What would be the reason for it? She couldn't be sure. Maybe she was losing her mind. It's not like they'd ever been friends and they sure as hell never had routine conversations. There was no reason to believe he wasn't around because of _her._ It was just a feeling she had. Like the universe was trying to tell her something.

Hope and excitement brewing deep in her kept her feelings that he was avoiding her at bay. She looked to the envelope next to the rose on her locker and began peeling away at the tape, trying not to rip anything. Her palms were sweaty as she tore the envelope from the card inside, which was covered in hearts. She slid her finger into the card first, praying that she'd see his signature when she opened it. Slowly opening the card, she half wanted to close her eyes just so she wouldn't look and she wouldn't be disappointed.

But she had looked. And she had been disappointed. It wasn't his name, rather Kate's asshole of an ex's. Josh was the only guy Kate had dated, and she hated every second of it. He hit on other girls in front of her, stood her up on dates, and even worse, he had left her for someone that was not only already spoken for, but completely out of his league. Kate never cried about it because in a way Josh had done her a favor, but what happened did make her much pickier about whom she chose to open up to.

Josh had been trying to get back with Kate for a few months now, but it was never going to happen. Kate wasn't going to worry about it though. She, instead, focused on the anger she now had towards Richard Rogers. Where on God's green earth had he gone? He was here still. She knew that much. She'd seen him bolting down the halls in a flash between classes. No doubt he was avoiding something. It may be her, it may not be, but she sure did feel victimized. Not that she had any right, seeing as they barely ever spoke.

If it wasn't her place, so be it, but Katherine Beckett was never a quitter, and she wasn't going to start now. She was going to get to the bottom of this little disappearing act if it was the last thing she did. She had no other choice if she wanted to possible date him. They were running out of time, and fast. It was now or never.


	4. Chapter 4

Rick had to hand it to the kid, Kevin Ryan could negotiate. He talked him up and up because he knew how bad Rick needed this from him. It wasn't good enough that Kevin would be closer to his classes, but he also wanted his lunch bill paid for the rest of the semester. Rick gave in to the offer because it was imperative that he switch to a locker on the opposite side of the school as Katherine Beckett. So he wouldn't be so tempted be her and her drugging appearance.

Kate probably didn't even notice he was gone, but the day after the staring incident Rick switched his locker with Kevin. Across the school and far, far away from temptation. Rick couldn't control himself around her, so his best option was to take himself out of the equation on the off chance she wanted to be with him too. Nothing good would come from their relationship. Rick could only see it ending badly, and he didn't want that for either of them. He didn't want to hurt her when he went off to college. He didn't ever want to hurt her.

Maybe running from his issues wasn't the best idea, but to him it was the most logical. Now Kate could date however, wear whatever, talk to whomever, and Rick wouldn't have to watch. She'd probably be asked to prom, which he wouldn't be attending for fear of him having to see her dance with someone else, and her life would be perfect and uncomplicated without him. That's what he wanted for her. He just wanted her to be happy. If that meant distancing himself, so be it. As long as he could keep himself away everything would be fine.

Maybe to further convince himself he didn't want to be with her he would go to prom. With another girl. There was a junior that showed interest in him. Her name was Gina and granted she was pretty, she was far from Rick's type. This wasn't about him though. This was about Kate and what was best for her. He'd maybe take one for the team and ask Gina to prom just to keep himself from going after Kate. Which was easier said than done. Kate was exquisite now and no doubt she'd go all out for prom. He could only imagine

But he should imagine. He needed to focus on other things if he was going to pull this off. Like his task at hand. The school day had ended and he had grabbed all of his work for the weekend, but there was one obstacle he faced every day when he left. In order to get to his car in the parking lot, he had to pass Kate's locker. There was no other way there and, unlike his locker, he couldn't switch parking spaces because if the school found out he'd be punished.

Peaking ahead just to make sure he had a clear, Kate-less shot at the entrance he walked ahead with a quickened pace. He was almost free… until he hit a corner of another hallway. Then there she was in all her glory, books in hand and almost smashing into him. Kate looked up at him, eyes glistening with perfection, and murmured, "Hello, Rick. Where have you been?" and with that, Richard Rogers knew he was doomed.


	5. Chapter 5

Kate couldn't figure out where the Hell she was. She recalled talking to Rick for a long time. Then she left the school, or she was going to… then everything went black. Her head hurt now and she couldn't see a damn thing. She was in a confined space. There were no sounds going on outside though that she could hear so she was either in something sound proof or no one was around.

She knew better than to panic. In this confined space all screaming would do is take away precious oxygen. The ground was carpeted, so maybe she was in the trunk of a vehicle? Maybe a vehicle that wasn't running. Whatever was going on she was unsure but she wasn't scared or panicked. It was hard to be much of anything when her head was throbbing.

Kate lifted her hand to her forehead and now realized that she felt a warm, sticky liquid there. She was bleeding. What the fuck happened? Where the fuck was Rick? She remembered running into him in the hall. She remembered talking to him about him being at a new locker, though he never disclosed the reason why he had a new locker. And he had mentioned a girl.

A girl that wasn't her. Him and a girl that wasn't her going to prom. Then she must have run away. Even the thought now made her want to cry and she was almost in an unconscious state, so she'd imagine she would have been crying when she wasn't in pain and confused. Her name was Gina, and she was damn near perfect. She was the lead in all the school plays, she was a straight A student and a complete kiss ass to teachers, and just her presence made Kate want to vomit. She was nice, but a fake nice. Truly, she was an attention grabbing bitch.

Kate had a hard time believing Rick would date such a fake ass I'm-so-perfect-please-pay-attention-to-me girl. Maybe Kate didn't have him figured out the way she thought she did. Kate could just curl up in a ball and die at the thought. Were all guys really this stupid? Did they all really always fall for the Ginas of the world? Kate hoped to God not. But what did she know about any of it? She was a naïve freshman that wanted something she couldn't have.

All of a sudden, there was a noise outside of where Kate was. It sounded like a voice or two, though Kate couldn't tell in her state of health. The voice or one of the voices came closer, then there was a jingling and a click and suddenly light flooded into Kate's blurred vision and blinded her. She was definitely outside. She tried to make out the face above her but everything was fuzzy and spinning and the blood from her forehead must have dripped down to her mouth because she could taste it.

All at once Kate was grabbed and thrown down on what must have been pavement and just before she blacked out once more she heard a man's voice say "You should have stayed away from him, Kate. You shouldn't have tried to whore around," and then she was out again.


End file.
